So, number 7 really is lucky, for Rihanna. The Pop princess has landed her first #1 album with Unapologetic. A week after she earned her 12th No. 1 single for “Diamonds,” the new LP debuts atop the Billboard 200. According to Nielsen SoundScan, RiRi’s seventh studio album has sold 238,000 copies in its first week.
“Unapologetic,” released on Monday, Nov. 19, also gives Rihanna her best sales week yet for an album. The new album’s arrival surpasses her previous best frame, racked when 2010’s “Loud” launched at No. 3 with 207,000.
Rihanna’s first release, “Music of the Sun,” debuted and peaked at No. 10 in 2005, followed by “A Girl Like Me” (No. 5, 2006), “Good Girl Gone Bad” (No. 2, 2007), “Rated R” (No. 4, 2009), “Loud” (No. 3, 2010) and “Talk That Talk” (No. 3, 2011). She has additionally charted with two remix albums “Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes” (No. 106, 2009) and “Rated R: Remixed” (No. 158, 2010).
Rihanna’s lack of a No. 1 album only seemed to draw more attention, perhaps compared to her consistent performance as a singles artist. Since her arrival in 2005, she has tallied 12 No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 — tying her for the fourth-most of all time with Madonna and the Supremes. Only the Beatles (with 20), Mariah Carey (18) and Michael Jackson (13) have had more.
In related R&B news, Keyshia Cole’s critically acclaimed new album Woman To Woman has debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, moving a solid 96,000. While, it does deserve more attention, that number is respectable for an album with no mainstream commercially successful singles, or much of a media push. However, this is an album that deserves to reach Gold, so check it out if you haven’t yet.
